


what you know about life?

by mullethyuck



Series: love is dead [4]
Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Airports, Alternate Universe - Zombie Apocalypse, Both literally and figuratively, Knives, M/M, Major Character Undeath, Mild Blood, Mild Gore, Minor Violence, alternately titled: watch na jaemin's descent into gay panic one apocalyptic crisis at a time!, these idiots need a shower, they're a mess that's all this is
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-17
Updated: 2019-11-17
Packaged: 2021-02-07 18:58:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,129
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21462928
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mullethyuck/pseuds/mullethyuck
Summary: A run-down airport is the absolute last place Jaemin expected to end up in the apocalypse.
Relationships: Na Jaemin/Wong Yuk Hei | Lucas
Series: love is dead [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1536871
Comments: 14
Kudos: 49





	what you know about life?

**Author's Note:**

> guess who's back, back again - ash is back, tell a friend
> 
> imma be real with you at this point you kinda have to read all the parts for this to make sense (this is part one as told by jaemin)
> 
> as usual i owe [steph](https://twitter.com/scoups_of_heony) my life for cheering me on and the title's from a [song](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=98lNT3f0SmQ)

A run-down airport is the absolute last place Jaemin expected to end up in the apocalypse.

Obviously he would’ve never come here on his own. Sure, maybe he’s just now finding out that this is where basically every corpse in the city apparently lives (is that even what it’s called if they’re not alive?), but even without that particular information there’s fuck all reason for anybody to hang out in an airport to begin with. Airports are useless now, just like cars and buses and pretty much any other mode of transportation that requires fuel. At this point most people just walk, since the only other options are like, bikes and skateboards and shit, and it’s really fucking hard to shoot a gun while you’re riding a bike. Jaemin saw a guy try it once, not too long after this whole thing started. It’s a very embarrassing way to die. Not to mention lame.

Anyway, the point is, he never expected to set foot in Incheon again, and he definitely didn’t plan on being dragged here by a corpse. Though “dragged” is a strong word for it, considering how fucking slow they’re going. It’s maddening. But it’s not like he can do anything about it; if he doesn’t match pace with the corpses, they’re gonna figure him out real quick. He’s amazed it hasn’t happened yet, but then again, corpses aren’t exactly known for their deductive reasoning skills.

When they finally make it into the airport, the corpses just kind of...scatter. Which is weird, because up until this moment Jaemin always assumed they had a pack mentality. Everybody assumes that, actually, because they’ve never seen a solitary corpse out in the open. Jaemin guesses it’s different when they’re out here beyond the reach of the humans; strength in numbers only matters if there’s a threat. Out here, they can do whatever the fuck they want.

Whatever the fuck this corpse wants is evidently living in a plane. Which is so dumb. And uncomfortable. And the walk from the terminal all the way to the landing strip takes_ ages. _ Jesus, corpses are so slow. It’s such a contrast to how they move when they’re biting people’s faces off. It’s really unsettling, and Jaemin kind of feels like he’s waiting for a jump scare. Like any minute now the corpse is gonna snap and kill him before he can so much as blink.

But currently, the corpse is opening the plane door and staring dumbly at Jaemin, which seems to be a running theme here. Not that corpses have ever been very expressive, what with their deteriorated facial muscles and shit, but still. Jaemin stands there, but nothing happens. The corpse is waiting for something. “I’m not going in there,” Jaemin says, and crosses his arms to make himself look intimidating. Are corpses even sentient enough to get intimidated?

“Safe,” the corpse says again. Like that’s reassuring.

Jaemin swings his arm out in the direction of the airport, and by extension, all the corpses inside. “Safe from them, maybe. But am I safe from you?” It’s a valid point, if he does say so himself. There may be hundreds of corpses a kilometer from where he stands, but there’s also one right in front of him. It only takes one.

The corpse does something with his neck that Jaemin thinks is meant to approximate a nod. Or maybe he just has a lot of muscle spasms. “Y-yes,” the corpse says after a lot of straining. Not that corpses should be able to put mental effort into anything at all, but it’s definitely a struggle on some level.

Jaemin still doesn’t believe him, because why would he, but he doesn’t really have many options here. He either gets in the plane, or he bolts. Running away is a horrible idea for several reasons, especially since the corpse could catch him pretty damn easily. And even if by some miracle he didn’t, Jaemin would be alone, which is a pretty major violation of his own personal rules for the apocalypse. It’s better to stay together, even if his companion happens to be a corpse that may or may not eat him at any given moment. Probably. He’s never had to choose between the two before.

He steps into the plane, wandering around to see if he can get a glimpse into the mind of the corpse. He takes Renjun’s lucky knife out at some point, holding it close to his heart like it’s a stand-in for Renjun himself. Renjun’s always got his back, so maybe now his knife will, too. Jaemin doesn’t let himself dwell on the fact he didn’t have Renjun’s back when it really mattered. He tells himself he’s too busy digging around the plane, which he is. Plus he’s gotta watch his own back, too.

His search ends up being really anticlimactic though, because he finds absolutely nothing in the plane that doesn’t already come in a plane to begin with. Maybe the total absence of any visible personality in the space says a lot about the corpse in itself, but it’s still disappointing. He’d always kind of expected a corpse’s hangout to be a complete wreck, for some reason. Maybe it just fits their whole “I’ve really let myself go since I died” aesthetic.

Eventually he gives up on finding anything interesting and walks back to the front of the plane where the corpse is still standing there looking blank. Well, except for his eyes - why do his eyes look so alive? Jaemin hates it. It makes it seem like there’s still a person buried underneath all that decay. Which there isn’t. There can’t be.

He rushes up to the corpse, slamming him against the wall of the plane with his own body and cuffing the corpse’s wrists with one hand. The other holds Renjun’s knife to the corpse’s throat. “If you touch me, I will kill you,” Jaemin says, because it’s true. This corpse has been more or less agreeable so far, but that doesn’t mean shit. There are only three people in the entire world Jaemin trusts with his life, and this motherfucker isn’t even a person. Even if he acts bizarrely human sometimes. And even if he does look really good, considering he’s been dead for over a year.

He waits, because he’s curious if the corpse has anything to say to that - if he even _ can _say anything to that - and it takes a solid minute but he manages to get out a raspy, “I...I won’t.” He makes a lot of gross choking noises in the process, but yeah, he gets there eventually.

The corpse gently frees his hands from Jaemin’s grip when it slackens from the sheer shock of hearing the corpse answer - which, shit, he let his guard down. He really can’t afford to do that. He just hadn’t been expecting to actually get a response, okay? Then the corpse shocks him again when he lifts his hands over his head, like he’s surrendering.

Jaemin gives the corpse the benefit of the doubt (despite his better judgment) and puts Renjun’s knife back in the holster on his thigh, but he still walks down the aisle of the plane to put some distance between them before he says, “What the fuck are you?” And Jaemin can answer this question for himself; it’s pretty self-explanatory.

Things This Corpse Currently Is (A List by Na Jaemin):

  1. Flattened against the wall that Jaemin pinned him to, like he’s afraid to move. Which he should be.
  2. Probably planning to eat Jaemin. Does he just like playing with his food?
  3. Looking at Jaemin with those weirdly human eyes that Jaemin is actively trying to avoid thinking about and failing miserably.
  4. Really bloody and generally disgusting. In desperate need of a shower, and like a gallon of mouthwash.
  5. Still kinda hot, though. Why is he hot? He shouldn’t be hot, he’s _dead._

So yeah, “Yukhei,” is not the answer he’s expecting. And the corpse says it so effortlessly too, like he’s been waiting for a chance to use it.

“Yukhei? That’s your name?” he asks as if it could be anything else. The corpse - Yukhei - nods. Jaemin, meanwhile, is actively short-circuiting at this new development, pacing in tiny circles in the aisle of first class. He moves his hands from his hips to touch the handle of his (Renjun’s) lucky knife. “I can’t believe corpses have names.”

“No.” Yukhei says it firmly, and Jaemin thinks if his face still worked he’d look offended right about now.

“No what?” he asks, because that could mean a lot of things. “You’re the only one with a name?” he guesses. Maybe Yukhei just wants Jaemin to know he’s _ different, _or whatever. God. Who would’ve thought the apocalypse would come to this.

“Not...not c-corpses.” It takes eons for Yukhei to say it, but it’s the most he’s spoken at once since Jaemin met him, so there’s something to be said for that.

Jaemin cuts him a look. “Okay, zombies then. Do zombies have names?”

Yukhei nods again, which he’s getting better at. It doesn’t look like he’s giving himself whiplash anymore, at least. “You?”

Jaemin stops in his tracks, because pacing all this time is kind of starting to make him dizzy but also this is the first time Yukhei’s asked him anything and he feels like that demands his full attention. So naturally he says, “I’m a human,” just to be difficult. Which turns out to be a huge mistake, because Yukhei lets out this really deep growl that’s incredibly confusing because Jaemin shouldn’t be into it, he should be scared for his life, but, well. Here he is. “My name’s Jaemin,” he says just so Yukhei will _ stop _doing that, oh my god.

Yukhei shuts up, thank fuck, and swings his arm out very suddenly and with very little coordination so it’s just hanging in the air between them. Jaemin eyes Yukhei’s outstretched hand, then figures it can’t hurt to humour him, and steps forward to shake it with the hand that isn’t holding his lucky knife. When he lets go, he swears Yukhei looks a little sad. But that’s not possible. Maybe Jaemin’s finally losing it.

He has to be losing it, actually, because now he’s throwing himself into the nearest seat and spinning Renjun’s dagger around in his hand like he hasn’t a care in the world and asking, “Why did you save me?” He isn’t really sure he wants to know the answer, and he’s kind of holding his breath, but all he gets in response is a spastic shrug. He sighs, because this whole one-sided conversation thing isn’t gonna fly. “Alright, well. Let’s try something else. Sit,” he orders as he points across the aisle with the blade of his knife. Yukhei listens. Good boy. “I’m gonna ask you questions, just answer yes or no, okay?” If Yukhei can be not like other girls, Jaemin can ask him to play twenty questions like he’s some fuckboy who just got Yukhei’s kik.

“Okay, first things first. Do you _ have _to eat people?” He throws it out there just in case, even though he’s kind of hoping the answer isn’t no. That would make everything so much more fucked up.

Yukhei nods. Jaemin relaxes an ever so infinitesimal amount.

“Do you like it?” he asks next, because if Yukhei says yes then that would also make the apocalypse a lot more fucky.

Yukhei shakes his head violently, and Jaemin fears for his brittle bones. “No,” he says almost easily.

Jaemin wonders why Yukhei struggles to speak sometimes, and other times he sounds almost human it’s so natural. But that’s not a yes or no question, so he doesn’t ask it. There’s something more important he needs to know, anyway. “Are you - do you still think like you used to?” he says, because he isn’t sure how else to ask if Yukhei is still holding onto part of his formerly human self.

Yukhei nods. It only half answers Jaemin’s question, but he can’t do much about that.

“You just can’t talk?” Yukhei shakes his head. “I’ve heard you say words, though.”

Yukhei shrugs, because that’s not even a question, and Yukhei couldn’t explain it if he wanted to. Even if he could talk, he probably doesn’t understand what’s happening any more than Jaemin does.

“Can you say sentences?” Jaemin offers after some thought.

Yukhei shakes his head again, forcing out a simple, “W-words.”

Well, that’s interesting. “Only words?” Yukhei just nods. “Holy shit, that’s amazing. All this time we thought cor- _ zombies _ couldn’t even think, much less talk.” He messes with his lucky knife to keep himself busy as he questions his entire worldview. “Fuck, do you know what this means? You’re not as brain dead as we thought. All this time we’ve been assuming you just ran on instinct, or autopilot or some shit - we didn’t think any actual biological functions were involved. That’s why we call you corpses, you’re supposed to be _ dead. _ But if you -” he stops himself as something occurs to him. “Do you sleep?” Sleep would be a good indicator that corpses’ brains need rest. Which would imply they use their brains, at least on some level.

“Sleep,” Yukhei repeats.

Jaemin is really having an existential crisis now. “Damn, we didn’t know that either.” It doesn’t make sense, though. “Why do you have to sleep if you’re -” He can’t make himself say it. Not when it’s directed right at Yukhei.

“Dead.” Yukhei’s not in denial, at least.

“Well, yeah,” Jaemin says, because it’s not like he can argue. Yukhei shrugs, since none of this makes any sense and he can’t say more than three syllables at a time anyway. “I guess you wouldn’t know that either.” Yukhei shakes his head again, and Jaemin really wishes they could have a proper conversation. He wonders if Yukhei ever gets lonely, not having anyone to talk to. “God, this whole zombie apocalypse thing is the dumbest shit ever. Don’t you hate it?”

“Yes.” They can definitely agree on that.

“Me too,” Jaemin says anyway, because it’s all he can say. Sure, he could tell Yukhei about watching his friends die, or killing one of his best friends so he didn’t end up just like Yukhei, or letting his friends down and watching them get hurt only to let them down _ again _because he couldn’t even get the medicine they needed to live. He doesn’t think Yukhei would get it. Or maybe he would, but Jaemin doesn’t know if that would make it better or worse.

He’s snapped out of his reverie when he feels eyes watching him intently. “Stop staring at me.” _ I can’t look you in the eye. It reminds me you’re a little bit human. _

“S-sorry.” Yukhei has the decency to look like he feels bad about it.

“It’s okay,” Jaemin says, even though he isn’t entirely sure if that’s true. He meets Yukhei’s eyes now, and instead of flinching away, he really looks at them for the first time. He’s hoping they hold the key to the apocalypse or some shit, like maybe Yukhei has the answers and if he stares hard enough he’ll find them. He doesn’t. “Shouldn’t we go to sleep? It’s late.” He’s exhausted, for a lot of reasons, and he really doesn’t wanna do this anymore.

Yukhei nods and stands up, which is only slightly concerning, so Jaemin slides a hand onto the handle of his knife. He doesn’t take it out of the sheath, just watches Yukhei as he rummages around in an overhead compartment a couple rows in front of where Jaemin’s sitting. After a minute he walks over to Jaemin and covers his shoulders with a blanket, which is entirely unexpected, but Jaemin’s not mad about it. He wasn’t really planning on being out late when he got dressed this morning, and his shirt is super fucking thin. He burritos himself into the blanket, and man. Sometimes it really is the little things.

“Good night, Yukhei,” he says because he’s still got _ some _manners. He faces the door though, because he still doesn’t trust Yukhei. Or anyone who isn’t his three best friends, but that’s beside the point. “Don’t try anything while I’m sleeping, or I’ll kill you.”

Yukhei blurts out a, “Same,” eyes going wide. Maybe Jaemin wasn’t imagining how easily the word fell from his mouth after all.

Either way, he doesn’t bring it up. “Alright, smartass, neither one of us will kill each other. Truce?” He pulls his hand out of his blanket cocoon, holding it out like Yukhei had when they first introduced themselves (only when Jaemin does it, it’s a lot more fluid). Yukhei grabs it, jerking it around in a valiant attempt at a handshake. “I’m still keeping my knife ready, though.” _ Please protect me, Renjun. _

Yukhei looks like he couldn’t give less of a fuck, but maybe that’s just his zombie face. He shrugs, moving to plop down into the pilot’s seat for the night. It’s a weird choice, Jaemin thinks, since the first class seats are a million times more comfortable, but then it occurs to him that Yukhei might not even notice a difference. Caskets aren’t made for comfort, after all.

Jaemin barely sleeps. He assumes Yukhei is dead to the world (no pun intended) purely because he hasn’t moved so much as a centimeter since he sat down, but Yukhei doesn’t have to worry about being found by the massive horde of zombies right outside the door. Well, not right outside. But way too close for comfort, that’s for damn sure.

Jaemin isn’t even worried about Yukhei anymore; he doesn’t exactly seem harmless, but he clearly doesn’t want to kill Jaemin or he would’ve tried something long before now. Hell, Jaemin was _ asleep _ barely a meter away from him and Yukhei didn’t do shit. Either he’s just really full from his last meal, or he’s actually planning on letting Jaemin go. Wait. Fuck. _ Is _ he gonna let Jaemin go?

Jaemin has no fucking clue what Yukhei brought him here for, but from the beginning he’d just assumed that at some point Yukhei would let him leave. He never truly stopped to consider the possibility that maybe Yukhei plans on keeping him here forever - which would be totally asinine, because why would a zombie even want to keep a human around except to eat them? But if Yukhei wanted to eat him, he would’ve done it already. Right? Shit.

At this point, the only viable escape plan is pretty clear: sneak out while Yukhei’s sleeping and hope for the best. Which isn’t a plan at all, really, but it’s the best option. Unless he gets torn apart by dozens of zombies because there are approximately zero places to hide on an airplane runway. Or maybe he’ll just collapse from exhaustion because he hasn’t eaten in almost an entire day. Or maybe Yukhei will wake up and he won’t even make it out the door.

He makes it out the door. Which sounds great in theory, but now what? He doesn’t even have a gun, and only three of his knives, since he took his harness off back at the pharmacy. After a minute of debating he just starts walking, since anything is better than standing around waiting to get eaten. The only problem is, it takes about five seconds for every zombie within three meters to sense Jaemin’s presence. They can probably smell him, or hear his breath or some shit, and he has no idea how to counteract their crazy sharp senses. It’s so weird how acutely aware zombies are of their surroundings when humans are involved, considering how dull they seem from an outsider’s perspective.

Jaemin hides behind the wheel of a plane, because while their senses of smell and hearing may be heightened, zombies don’t have the greatest eyesight. It’s probably the cloudiness that plagues their eyes; some biological buildup that happens after you die that Jaemin doesn’t know enough about to fully explain. Zombies only get some of the effect, since they’re only half dead, but evidently it’s enough to put them at a disadvantage.

Jaemin can hear the zombies talking to themselves (or each other?) but all he hears is a single word repeated over and over: “Eat.” And yeah, he’ll admit he’s getting a little worried at this point, and maybe he’ll also admit he didn’t particularly think this through. He figures his only options now are either wait it out, or go down swinging. He takes a sharp breath in, heart pounding as he reaches for his lucky knife.

He sees Yukhei. He’s walking toward Jaemin’s hiding spot, torturously slow, but his eyes lock on Jaemin’s and suddenly this whole ordeal doesn’t seem so terrifying. Maybe Jaemin’s willing to admit he’s kind of gotten attached to Yukhei, too. Plus it’s probably a good idea to have a zombie on his side right about now, since he’s in their turf.

“Not safe,” Yukhei says as he huddles next to Jaemin behind the wheel. He says it totally deadpan, since his stiff vocal cords don’t allow for much emotion, but Jaemin can feel the exasperation rolling off of him in waves.

“Yeah, I know that,” Jaemin huffs, even though he really has no right to be annoyed considering he walked right into this one. “And don’t you _ dare _say ‘I told you so,’ or I’ll kill you.” Yukhei’s clearly calling him out on his bullshit, because the idiot just flashes him what Jaemin’s pretty sure is meant to be a smile. It kind of just looks like Yukhei’s gritting his teeth. Which, speaking of - Jaemin sticks the tip of his blade against Yukhei’s still chest to get him to stop. “You’ve got shit in your teeth, gross.”

Yukhei does shut his mouth, but only momentarily. “Go.”

God, Jaemin’s tired of hearing that word. “Yeah, we need to go. Go where?” He pauses as a thought occurs to him. “What do you even do all day here, anyway?”

“Be d-dead,” Yukhei says with only minimal difficulty. Little shit. Before Jaemin can say anything in response, he’s sticking his finger in the hole Jaemin put in his chest and rubbing the clumps of blood against Jaemin’s cheek. It smears across his face like jelly. Yukhei keeps going, trailing his hand down Jaemin’s neck too - which Jaemin is _ not _thinking about - and then leans so far forward their faces are almost touching. Which Jaemin can’t help but think about, holy shit. But then Yukhei’s just smelling him, and leaning back with a simple, “Good,” and Jaemin has no idea what to do with any of that.

“That smells fucking awful,” he says, because it does, but also because it’s the only part of this whole situation he can address without his heart doing weird things for one reason or another.

“Dead,” Yukhei retorts, and this time Jaemin can actually hear the snark in his voice. _ Yeah, I know you’re dead. Doesn’t make the smell any better, dumbass. _

He moves on, because this is not a productive conversation, and he’d really rather not get eaten today. Or ever, but he needs to focus on the issue at hand. “What’s the plan?”

“Go,” Yukhei repeats, because of fucking course he does.

“Right.” Jaemin is tempted to demand a rundown of the entire plan, if there even is a plan to begin with, but he doesn’t have time for this and frankly he doesn’t care anymore. He just wants to get the fuck out of here. “Lead the way, I guess.”

A ghost of a smile flickers across Yukhei’s lips as he guides Jaemin up by the arm. His hand wraps all the way around Jaemin’s bicep. God. Jaemin barely registers the “Be dead,” that Yukhei says under his breath, because how can he be expected to cope with Yukhei’s low voice right in his ear when he’s already short-circuiting from the huge hand on his arm. Jaemin just sort of nods. Maybe. He tries to nod, anyway.

Yukhei drops his hand and starts walking, which more or less snaps Jaemin out of it as he follows closely behind. And like, yeah, he’s lived in the apocalypse for over a year now, but it’s not like he ever paid much attention to the way zombies act because he was too busy shooting, stabbing, or otherwise maiming them. He does his best, with the limp and the moaning and the whole deal, but Yukhei does not seem impressed, if the elbow being jammed into Jaemin’s side is anything to go by.

“Ow, what the fuck?” Jaemin hisses through the pain. It only earns him another elbow to the ribs.

“Too...much,” Yukhei corrects, motioning vaguely at himself before walking slightly ahead, presumably so Jaemin can watch the way he moves. Jaemin sort of pays attention. “Be d-dead.”

“Damn, okay, got it.” _ Sorry I was distracted by your stupid big hands and your stupid pretty eyes and your stupid face that’s way more handsome than any dead person should be allowed to have. Sue me. _He does reel it in, though. Yukhei still doesn’t seem entirely pleased with his performance, but he’s got gooey zombie blood slathered all over his face so that probably sells it more than Jaemin’s acting ever could anyway.

They walk down the tarmac for ages, moving at a painstakingly slow pace just for the sake of appearances even though the other zombies are all but ignoring them. Jaemin considers telling Yukhei to pick up the pace more than once, but he knows it would be pointless and in the end it’s not worth it. If they start running, and zombies start following, there’s no going back.

Eventually Yukhei guides him to very specific terminal, which naturally makes Jaemin wonder why he chose this one in particular, but he doesn’t ask. At some point Yukhei stops sort of abruptly and tells Jaemin to sit, which he’s more than happy to do. Acting dead puts some real stress on your muscles, damn. No wonder dead bodies get rigor mortis.

Jaemin drops to the floor, leaning against the wall in a futile attempt to force his back muscles to release their tension. “Fuck, I’m hungry.” He hadn’t realized how true it is till just now.

Yukhei gives him a weird look that’s kind of hard to decipher what with his lack of facial control, then just says, “Stay.”

He looks like he’s about to walk away, which Jaemin is definitely not gonna let happen. “No way, fuck that,” he argues as Yukhei is turning to leave. He grabs Yukhei by the wrist to stop him, but he moves too quickly and Yukhei’s skin rips. Ew. “You’re not leaving me here alone.” _ I can’t do this alone. I need you. _

Yukhei just stares at him for a minute before breathing out a defeated, “F-fine.”

Jaemin flashes him his signature thank-you-for-doing-what-I-said-so-I-don’t-have-to-hurt-you smile, taking his lucky knife out of the holster on his thigh and tossing it back and forth between his hands. They may have ditched the zombies outside Yukhei’s front door, but fuck knows where the rest of them like to hang out and Jaemin would really rather not walk into an ambush unarmed. Yukhei doesn’t seem all that concerned about it, but he knows a hell of a lot more about zombie habits than Jaemin does. Jaemin doesn’t exactly trust Yukhei’s judgment of zombie character anyway, considering Yukhei himself seems to go against everything zombies stand for. Basically, he’s fucking weird, even by apocalyptic standards. Maybe that’s why Jaemin likes having him around.

Well, that and the fact he can help fight off other zombies. Would he even do that if they tried to eat Jaemin? Does he consider other zombies his friends? He definitely doesn’t side with humans. Does he care about sides at all? Maybe he’s more of a free thinker, or whatever. A true individual. Or maybe he wants to be, anyway. There isn’t much time for self-discovery during the end of the world.

For the moment it doesn’t matter either way, because they find a vending machine that’s completely untouched (probably because zombies don’t exactly crave Pop-Tarts). Yukhei doesn’t even bat an eye before kicking in the glass, and there’s a sick crack followed by a nasty ripping sound as a bone tears through the skin of his shin. It’s a shame, because it rips his jeans, too. They look like they were nice jeans, once.

Jaemin just goes for it, grabbing whatever he can fit in his arms since he’s fucking starving and he has zero clue when he’ll get to eat again after this. After a minute, Yukhei taps his shoulder to get his attention and shakes his head. Jaemin gives him his best puppy dog eyes and holds up his loot. “Can’t I just take this stuff?”

Yukhei just looks at him, unaffected. “No. T-too...much.”

Jaemin huffs and tosses most of the food back into the vending machine. “Fine. You’re no fun.” _ It’s not my fault all we have to eat in Paradise are like, peanut butter and beans and shit. It gets old eating the same shit out of a jar every day. _

He finds a chair nearby, falling into it and ripping open a bag of M&M’s for breakfast. It’s one of the big bags, too. God, he can’t remember the last time he had chocolate. He might cry.

Except he’s too distracted by Yukhei’s restless pacing. He’s sitting next to Jaemin, but every five seconds he has to get up and wander into the hallway for no apparent reason. “What are you doing?” Jaemin asks around a mouthful of candy while he opens a bag of chips for dessert.

“Not safe,” is all Yukhei says.

_ Wow, thanks for clearing that up. _“Newsflash, Yukhei, the world isn’t safe.”

Yukhei still doesn’t react, besides frowning and saying, “Go,” for like the hundredth time since Jaemin’s known him.

Jaemin stands up even as he asks, “You keep saying that, but where the fuck are we going?” And yes, he does throw his trash away, because civilization may be dying but that doesn’t mean the planet needs to. Not that he’s counting on the zombies to take out the trash, but it’s the thought that counts.

Yukhei looks at him, and his eyes look way clearer than they did just an hour ago - they sparkle in the sunlight streaming through the window, and it’s so surreal. Yukhei’s only getting more charming, and if he keeps this up Jaemin’s gonna riot. “H-home.”

Jaemin freezes. “You’re taking me home?” Yukhei just nods, and Jaemin’s so stoked he rushes over to Yukhei, as an ever so rare genuine smile finds it way onto his face. “Holy shit, I thought you were gonna keep me hostage here forever.”

“No,” is Yukhei’s simple answer. It says absolutely nothing about what he originally planned to do with Jaemin, but somehow Jaemin still gets the impression he had good intentions all along.

He lets Yukhei lead the way to the exit, humming in thought. “You know, you’re not that bad for a zombie.”

“You’re not that bad for a human.” Oh, Jaemin’s hallucinating. That was bound to happen at some point, right? The apocalypse fucks with you.

Except Yukhei is staring back at him looking just as shocked as he is and - “Holy _ fuck, _I thought you said you couldn’t talk! Have you always been able to speak so well? Were you just hiding this from me? If you were I swear to god I’ll kill you -” Jaemin pauses when he notices Yukhei’s blank stare. It’s not a zombie blank stare, it’s more like an I’m-having-a-flashback blank stare. Like the kind Jeno gets when he remembers the first time he fired a gun, or how Renjun looks when he thinks about the time his little cousin left on his own and never came back. (Not in one piece, anyway.) “Yukhei? Hey, are you even listening?”

“No,” Yukhei says flatly, and keeps moving.

Jaemin catches up to him, but his stupid long legs make it harder to keep up than it should be. Especially since he’s dead. “I think we need to talk.”

“Can’t.” _ He’s totally doing this on purpose. _

“Bullshit.” Jaemin’s eyes nearly roll back into his head. “You said an entire sentence to me like, two minutes ago. I think you just don’t want to.”

It’s weird, because it almost sounds like Yukhei sighs when he says, “I do want to.”

Jaemin’s too preoccupied with the matter at hand to worry about Yukhei’s phantom breath. “See? You just did it again!” He elbows Yukhei, but all he can comfortably reach is his hip. “Talk to me.” He gives Yukhei the most pleading look he can manage. He’s pretty good at looking pitiful if he really wants to.

It works. “About what?”

There are a million ways Jaemin could answer that, and at least a thousand ways he wants to. He could always go with the classic, _ how did you get turned into a zombie, _ or the more controversial _ if you had the chance to eat anyone in the world who would you choose, _ or even the straightforward _ I know you’re dead but you’re hot, dude. _ But he doesn’t even get the chance to decide, because there’s movement on the periphery of his vision and when he turns he sees a whole fuckton of zombies milling around the airport lobby. Beautiful.

Yukhei follows his line of sight, and as soon as he realizes what Jaemin’s looking at he leans down to whisper in Jaemin’s ear. Jaemin really wishes he’d stop doing that, fuck. Like yeah his raspy voice is attractive as hell but the dude eats human flesh, it’s not like Jaemin finds Yukhei’s breath wafting over his neck pleasant. Even if it’s still kinda hot. _ See, this is exactly why he needs to cut this shit out, it’s too confusing. There is literally no time for this right now. _“Follow me,” Yukhei says, like Jaemin’s been doing anything else. (Well, except for the time he tried to kill Yukhei. And the time he tried to ditch him. But other than that he’s been on his best behaviour, thank you very much.)

Jaemin listens, putting on his best I’m-dead-just-like-the-rest-of-you act, but the zombies hardly seem to notice him. Which is either really good - because he’s crushing this performance, fuck yeah - or really, really bad.

Jaemin’s gonna go with really bad, because now some random zombie is walking up to Yukhei and sniffing him with this strange intensity that Jaemin isn’t sure zombies should technically be capable of. Another zombie is watching it happen with an unsettling gaze that Jaemin thinks is a little too expectant for his liking. More zombies are hovering around them, and Jaemin has never seen this many in one place, and it’s seriously starting to stress him out. He wants to grab his lucky knife, the one Renjun gave him, and hold onto it for dear life but he can’t because if he grabs a weapon the zombies will definitely take that as a threat.

He grabs onto Yukhei’s hand instead. It’s still grounding, still slows the pounding in his chest, and when he squeezes even harder he feels like he can breathe again, but it’s not a sign of aggression. If anything, it’s a symbol of truce; like, _ hey we don’t wanna kill each other so maybe could you just let us through and we won’t bother you either? _He doesn’t think the zombies will notice it anyway. Except...they do?

The zombie that was smelling Yukhei’s neck leans forward almost imperceptibly, but Yukhei catches the movement instantly and pulls Jaemin halfway behind him, shoulders bristled in a protective stance he probably doesn’t realize he’s taken. Jaemin just holds onto his hand as tight as physically possible because he doesn’t know what else to do, and really, what else _ can _ he do? Zombies are Yukhei’s area of expertise, not Jaemin’s. Sure Jaemin has a pretty high body count, but killing zombies without hesitation and actually interacting with zombies require two very different skill sets. Jaemin’s never even considered doing something like this before.

They all stand there, motionless, for so long that Jaemin loses track of the seconds. Yukhei’s bound to crack any moment, because even though he’s dead he isn’t very fond of silence (weird how he and Jaemin have that in common). And he does. “Hendery -”

_ Who the fuck is Hendery? _Jaemin wonders right as the zombie in front of Yukhei says, “Who the fuck is Hendery?” At least Jaemin isn’t the only one completely lost.

Wait. “Holy fuck,” Jaemin says under his breath at the realization that a zombie besides Yukhei has just said a full ass sentence. Yukhei, the big idiot, still isn’t saying anything, and the zombies are looking at him like he’s insane, and the tension is almost palpable. Jaemin prods him in the side to snap him out of whatever’s got him stuck in his head. Amazing how zombies can get stuck in their heads, too. Huh. “Answer him, dumbass.” _ I wanna know what the hell you’re talking about, too. _

“Hendery is...you,” Yukhei says, because he’s a very articulate dead person.

“My name’s Kunhang,” the other zombie replies. He and Yukhei are staring at each other like they’re trying to read each other’s minds. They’re gonna give themselves headaches straining their two (dead) brain cells like this.

“Oh, uh. My bad,” Yukhei says, and to his credit he really does sound apologetic. “Didn’t really know what to call you till now.” Jaemin can see the side of Yukhei’s mouth quirk up in the first smile he’s ever seen on a zombie, and he does not know what to do with this new development in the slightest.

“It’s fine,” Kunhang says agreeably. Zombies are so polite, what the fuck. It’s giving Jaemin another existential crisis. “I always called you Lucas in my head.”

“Yukhei,” he clarifies, and then he’s hugging Kunhang, and they’re totally having a moment. Apparently they’re friends? Or something?

Jaemin finally snaps. “Not that this isn’t adorable, but what the actual, literal fuck is going on here?”

He’s practically crushing Yukhei’s hand at this point, because now every zombie within earshot suddenly looks very interested in this conversation. “Jaemin -” Yukhei starts, and hearing Yukhei say his name for the first time is definitely making Jaemin feel a lot of things at the moment.

He doesn’t have time to process precisely what things he’s feeling, though, because Kunhang interjects. “Is he human, too?”

There’s a long, awkward pause before Yukhei blurts, “Too?”

Kunhang just looks at him funny, like he’s missing something obvious. “You have a heartbeat.”

And, okay. That’s a lot to process. It’s more than a lot, really. It’s like someone suddenly saying the sky is orange, or some shit. Is Kunhang delusional? Can zombies be delusional? Jaemin can’t take this. “That’s impossible, he’s a fucking zombie. Zombies are dead. Dead people don’t have heartbeats.” C’mon, Kunhang. This is like, middle school science.

Yukhei nods, backing him up, but nobody else says anything. For some reason Yukhei is moving to shield Jaemin with his body, but before Jaemin can register what’s happening a zombie has Jaemin’s head in his hands and oh fuck this is where it ends, isn’t it? _ Hyuckie, Junnie, I’m so sorry. Take good care of them for me, Jen. I love you all. _He waits for the snap of his neck and hopes death is kind to him.

But then his face is being pressed against Yukhei’s chest, blood smearing on Jaemin’s cheek from the bullet hole he put there himself. He looks up at Yukhei, a silent _ what the fuck is he doing, _but Yukhei’s looking down at him just as confused. And then - Jaemin hears it. He pushes against Yukhei’s chest (which is very broad and Jaemin hates himself for noticing so) and stares at him. “Holy shit. You have a heartbeat.” It shouldn’t be possible, but there it is.

Jaemin grabs the nearest zombie - the one Jaemin thought was gonna kill him not even ten seconds ago - and shoves his face against his chest. “Wait, you do too, what the fuck?” _ It’s not possible. _He grabs Kunhang’s arm and pulls, the force propelling Kunhang’s chest right into Jaemin’s face. “Kunhang, so do you!”

Jaemin turns on his heel, striding off to press his ear to the next zombie’s chest to check for any signs of life. Yukhei looks like this whole ordeal is stressing him the fuck out. “Jaemin -”

“Stop doing that,” the head-grabbing zombie says. It sounds like an order. Too bad Jaemin likes to give orders, not take them. “Don’t manhandle Winwin,” he goes on, like Jaemin knows what a Winwin is.

The zombie Jaemin still has trapped in a hug with his face against his chest looks borderline offended. “Winwin? What the fuck, my name is Sicheng.” Oh. So Winwin doesn’t know what a Winwin is, either.

Jaemin doesn’t care about the semantics of it all right this moment. “Yeah, we’ve been over this, you all made up names for each other because you couldn’t talk. Now shut up, I need to listen to your heart.” Jaemin would’ve made such a good doctor if the world hadn’t ended. What impeccable bedside manner. Now if Sicheng would just hold still for five seconds so he could - “Congratulations, you have a heartbeat!” He nearly shouts it, but honestly who cares? It’s exciting news - quite literally world changing.

He hears “Jaemin,” from Yukhei again as he moves to another zombie, but it’s heavier this time.

“Yeah?” he calls back, though he’s distracted by the sound of a heartbeat inside the zombie’s chest that he’s currently pressed up against.

Yukhei doesn’t say a word, just holds out a hand and gives Jaemin a look that’s somewhere in between demanding and pleading, and Jaemin doesn’t know how Yukhei’s even managing that expression but he’ll gladly walk over there if it means he’ll _ stop. _There’s enough going on right now as it is, Jaemin doesn’t need Yukhei’s intense smolder complicating things any more than they already are. He moves back to his spot beside Yukhei, and both of them immediately relax. Weird. Usually the only time that ever happens is when Jaemin is with Jeno. He doesn’t let himself think about it for too long.

They’re all just looking at each other. God, Jaemin really does have to do everything himself. “You’re healing yourselves. How is that possible?” Obviously they don’t answer, not that Jaemin had really been asking for one. He looks up at Yukhei. “You gotta take me home. We have to tell the others.” _ Maybe someone smarter than us can figure this shit out. _

“And get shot in the face?” one of the zombies counters. Of course it’s the one who made him listen to Yukhei’s heart. Jaemin’s starting to think he’s like, unofficial ruler of the undead, or some shit.

“They won’t shoot you in the face if you’re acting human.” _ Probably. Actually, no, Jeno still would. _“Which you are, weirdly.”

Yukhei leans down, lips brushing against Jaemin’s ear as he says, “It’s a bad idea.” _ Yeah, this really is a bad idea. _ “It’s suicide.”

Jaemin really wishes they’d realize how monumental this is. “Well what are we gonna do, then? Something is clearly triggering the change, we have to figure out what it is.”

Yukhei suddenly looks like he’s discovered the secrets of the universe as he peers down at Jaemin. “It’s you.”

Nobody says anything for a long time, and even Jaemin doesn’t know how to respond to that. Finally, Kunhang says, “He’s right.”

Jaemin does know how to respond to that. “What? I didn’t even do anything.”

Yukhei shrugs, shoulder brushing against Jaemin as he says, “You treated me like a person. Sort of.”

Jaemin stares at him. “You think human interaction is the cure to the zombie apocalypse? It can’t be that simple.” Nothing has ever been that simple, and the end of the world only made shit even more complicated.

The undead overlord over here just shrugs. “Maybe it is.”

“Either way, it can’t hurt,” Yukhei points out. And maybe that’s not entirely true, but Yukhei gives his hand a little squeeze and in this moment Jaemin would probably agree to anything he says. 

Kunhang rudely interrupts their moment with a very pointed look at their joined hands and a, “Are we sure it isn’t the power of love, or some shit?”

God, zombies are dumb. Being dead really leaves lasting brain damage. “We’re not in _ love. _I mean yeah, he’s hot for a zombie, but I’ve known him for like, a day.” Jaemin can’t believe he just admitted that. What the fuck is he doing with his life. He moves on quickly, but he can feel a blush creep onto his face anyway. “Plus, it wouldn’t be affecting all of you if it was love that’s doing it.”

“Yeah.” _ Thanks, Yukhei. You really got my back. _He’s lucky he’s cute. And considerably less dead than he was when they met.

Undead overlord steps in, which Jaemin is grateful for only because it puts him and Yukhei out of their misery and gets everyone back on track. “We need to find the humans. We need to see if this works.”

Okay, maybe undead overlord has a point there. “Come with me,” is all Jaemin says before basically dragging Yukhei out the door. He doesn’t even care if any of the other zombies follow at this point; he’s got Yukhei, and his lucky knife, and right about now that’s all he needs to get him home.

The walk back to Paradise is long, and some of the zombies are a lot slower than others, so it’s kind of like herding cats keeping everyone together, but it’s okay. Jaemin’s going home. He’s gonna see Donghyuck and Renjun and Jeno and he’ll explain everything to them and they’ll accept Yukhei and help him get better and Jaemin will help Donghyuck and Renjun get better too and everything will be fine. It has to be.

“What are you staring at?” he asks after forever of waiting for Yukhei to say something like he looks like he wants to.

“You’re beautiful,” is not the answer Jaemin was waiting for.

He gives Yukhei’s shoulder a playful punch because what the fuck is the proper response when a formerly hot zombie who’s turning into an even hotter _ not _ dead person right before your eyes calls you beautiful? Yeah. Not Jaemin’s smoothest moment, but like seriously. It’s not like he’s had a lot of practice dealing with cute boys who aren’t already his best friends since the world ended. “Is that why you saved my life?” he asks jokingly, because again, what the fuck else is he supposed to say.

“At first, yeah.” Oh. Okay. “But I did start to like you as a person, too.” Then Yukhei’s smiling, and it’s possibly the most healing thing Jaemin has ever seen. How can someone who was dead only hours ago be so full of life? Jaemin can’t help but smile, too.

“I like you as a person, too.” Maybe even enough to be a little bold. “But just for the record, I’m not gonna kiss you till you brush your teeth. And drown yourself in mouthwash.”

Yukhei laughs, and yeah, it was worth the potential embarrassment. “You want to kiss me?”

“I said you were hot, didn’t I?” Jaemin holds Yukhei’s hand tighter, even though Yukhei hasn’t let him go since they left the airport. “And, I don’t know, you’re sweet. Maybe I liked hanging out with you. Plus, I do kind of owe you, since you saved my life even though I shot you.”

“You don’t owe me anything,” Yukhei argues, and Jaemin knew it anyway but it’s nice to hear him say it. And they say chivalry is dead. “And you missed.”

Jaemin flashes him a smile that’s all teeth. “I didn’t miss. Maybe I didn’t want you to die, either.” Yukhei doesn’t say anything, because there really isn’t much to say to that anyway. They keep walking, Jaemin swinging their hands between them as they talk about anything besides the current state of the world.

Jaemin really hopes this works out. If he doesn’t play his cards right, bringing a zombie right into his own home is gonna get real messy real fast. Donghyuck and Renjun can’t be too protective from their infirmary beds, but if Jeno has a problem with it, it’s over. Jaemin might not have killed Yukhei, but Jeno never misses.

**Author's Note:**

> ok so i officially have the rest of this series planned out!! it'll have three more parts for sure, and possibly one more after that if y'all want it (we'll figure that out when we get there though)
> 
> also side note i just wanna say a huge thank you to anyone who's actually paying any attention to this series y'all mean the world to me and i hope this is as fun for you to read as it is for me to write <3
> 
> and as you know i'm always down to chat on [twitter](https://twitter.com/mullethyuck) or [curiouscat](https://curiouscat.me/mullethyuck) don't be shy


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